Concentrator



M. J. LIDE CONCENTRATOR Nov. 13, 1934.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 4, 1929 Martin J. Lida W5 ATTORNEYS M. J. LIDE CONCENTRATOR Nov. 13, 1934.

2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Nov. 4, 1929 Marn'n J L ide W7;

Patented Nov. 13, 1 934 UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE 1,980,490 CONCENTRATOR} Martin J. Lide, Birmingham, Ala. Application November 4, 1929, Serial No. 404,630

Claims. (01. 209 -326) My invention relates to separators or concenbased on gravity alone become ineffective. In trators of materials having different specific this invention it is hoped to increase the efficiency gravities and has for its object the provision of of concentrating fine dry coal, in three ways, as apparatus of the character designated which shall follows:

5 be simple and sturdy of design, reliable in oper- (1) The particles will be catapulted upward ation and which shall have a relatively large cawith such an acceleration as to leave the screen pacity. surface. The upward flow of air will increase the A further object of my invention is to provide rise of the particles and resist their fall, and due a concentrator embodying a means for treating to both causes, will cause them to stratify accorda relatively deep bed of material and employing ing to their gravity ratio. 65 air as a flotation medium, together with simple (2) By means of high frequencyvibration the effective means for vibrating the concentrator. catapulting cycles per minute will be greatly in- A still further object of my invention is to procreased over slow speed oscillatory apparatus. vide a concentrator for coal and like materials, (3) By means of a deep bed, the well known employing air as the flotation medium, and emprinciple of hindered settling in jigging practice "5'0 bodying means for treating a relatively deep bed will apply to increase the size ratio through whic of material, together with simple, sturdy supthe material can be concentrated. porting structure for the concentrator and means In carrying out my invention, I provide a pan, for imparting relatively high frequency short resembling the well known jig bed, which may be vibrations to the concentrator in a manner for deeper at one end than the other and which is moving the materials thereover. provided with a perforated bottom which may be Apparatus for separating coal from slate and inclined. Material to be separated is fed into other impurities, as heretofore known to me, may the shallower end of the pan and moves toward be divided into two general classes. The first of the deeper end of the pan while being subjected these, and the one more widely used, employs to vibration in a manner to effect vertical prowater as the flotation medium and usually empulsion to the particles as well as movement of bodies a screen on which is treated a relatively the material from the feed to the discharge end deep bed of material and means for supplying of the pan, and to a current of air flowing uppulsations of water upwardly through the screen wardly through the material bed. By the time 530 to effect stratification of the material. In such the material has reached the deeper end of the apparatus the current of water overflowing the pan, it is thoroughly Stratified and the lighter material bed is employed to carry off the lighter material passes over a' suitable overflow dismaterials while the heavier materials are alcharge while the heavier material passes under lowed to pass out through suitably arranged slate a slate gate to a suitable discharge. 35 gates. Apparatus embodying features of my invention The necessity of drying coal which has been is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, treated in the manner just described has led o g a p rt Of this pp a O in Which to the adoption of concentrating tables employ- Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a concening air as the flotation medium for separating trator made in accordance Wlth my lnventmn; 49 coal from its heavier constituents. Air concen- Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line trators, as heretofore constructed, have usually II--II of Fig. 1; comprised inclined riffied perforated tables, with Fig. 3 is a detail sectional View of the discharge means to force a current of air upwardly through end of the apparatus; the table to stratify the material. Horizontal Figs. i and 5 are views similar to Figs. 1 and 2 45 oscillations are imparted to the table so that the showin a mOdified'meanS O imparting relaheavier material is usually delivered at one side tively h frequency a i s t0 the concenof the table by the inclined rifiles and the lighter trator, and p r l I material flows by gravity over the riffles to a 6 is a detail of a modified Spring nstrucseparate discharge. tion. 1

50 The great diiflculty heretofore in the dry confe ri s o to the drawmgs for a b t er centration of fine coal, has been to obtain efunderstanding of my invention, I hOW a pan 10 ficiency in cleaning. Not only is the ratio of sizes having a feed end 11 and a deeper discharge end very great in line coal, but when the sizes ap- 12. The pan is provided with an inclined perproach dust, the effect of viscosity preponderates forated bottom 13 through which air-is forced by 55 so greatly over that of gravity that processes means of a suitable blower 14, The perforations 11 "T 3" ward motion of the pan.

of the bottom 13 may be arranged in any suitable manner to supply the required volume of air through the different areas of the pan. Material to be separated is fed into the pan at 16, entering under a baiiie wall 15, forming an air seal, and after traveling to the deeper end of the pan, the lighter material passes over a gate 17 while the heavier material passes out through an adjustable slate gate 13. .Ascrew conveyer 19 carries the lighter. material away and a screw conveyer '21 carries the heavier material away from the apparatus. I

The pan is provided with a frame comprising structural steel angles 22 secured to the sides of the pan and extending parallel to the -bottom 13. The bottom 13 extends outwardly under-the bottom flanges of the angles 22 and is secured between the lower flange ofthe angle 22'arid steel castings 23 by means of rivets 20. Also joined to the bottom flange of the angles 22 is a'steel'hop- .per bottom 24. Extending across the hopper bot- ;tomft24 and securedthereto by welding, in a position to-support the bottom 13, are suitable cross supports 26. Extending longitudinally of the pan IO'an'd bolted to the bottom 13 underneath the crosssupports-ZG are longitudinal bars 25.

- Extending parallel to the angles 22 is a sub 'frame:comprising longitudinally extending paralle1:I-b'eams 27. Mounted on the I-beams 27 are steel castings 28 having formed integrally "thereoncylindrical guide members 29 which exte'ndfupwardly from-the castings 28. The castingsi'23'alsohave formed thereon integral cylin- "drical guide "members 31'which are similar to the guide members 29 and which extend downwardly 'from the'castings 23 opposite the guide members 29.

.TSurrounding'the guide members 29 and 31 are :coili'springs 3zof-sufficient strength to support thepan 11'zwith-the material to be treated and sto project'it'upwards upon being compressed. Theguide members: 29 and 31 are held in their *proper-relativefpositionsby means of bolts 33 Y'whichextend downwardly through the castings ZB' theguidemembers -3l and 29 and the castings 28. .",The sub framemembers 27 aremounted on suitable foundation beams34-and 36 sothat the bottonr'13' of the pan ll is-inc1ined. This incli- '.nationmay be "varied by any suitable means,

shown conventionally asby means of wedges 3'7 ""a'nd38. V

1 ."Mour'ited onthe-castings-28 and secured to -"each ofthe'beams 2'7; are-electro-magnets 39 and 41, those on one-side onlybeing shown and it 5*beingunderstood-that the opposite side of the and 43" for-the electromagnets 39 and 41 respectively. It will be seen that when'the electro- ""mag'nets -39"'and-41-are' energized, the armatures 42 and 43 are drawn downwardly with the pan lo'and, upon deenergization, the springs 32'force the pair up to 'itstorigi-nal:position, limited by the adjustment of thebolts'33. 7 Anvils 44, conforming in shape to the cylindrical guides29 and 31, are'dnterpo'sed:betweenthe/guides 29 and 31 and against which the guides 31 strike upon down- 'It'willbeiro't'ed thatina'smuchasthepan frame ancrsu frame are both inclined tothe horizontal, that"'the"pari"would' tendto-'move--to the right as iii the drawings; with respect to the "frame wise "flexibly connected to a delivery hood 53 by is increased by reason of the fact that the springs 32 are also inclined to the vertical. This tendency is overcome my means of links 48 which extend from end to end of the apparatus and are'secured at the upper end to upwardly extending brackets 49 carried by the beams 27, and at the lower end to downwardly extending brackets 51 carried by the beams 23. i

The hopper 24 at the bottom of the pan 10, is connected to an air delivery conduit '52, which is stationary relative to the conduit 24, by means of a suitable flexible connecting. means 53, making a flexible joint which extends entirely around the hopper. The upper sides of the pan 10 are likemeans of :adlexible connection 54. The overflow for lighter material is connected to the screw conveyor 19by means of a flexible connection 56 and the discharge for heavier material is connected to the screw conveyor 21 by means of a flexible connection '58. Theflexibleconnections just described permit vibration of the pan 10--With out vibration of the hood.- 53, air. delivery conduit 52, or the conveyorslQ and-.21. :Preferablythe air employedin stratifying thematerial is returned tothe blower 14 fromthe hood 53-asindicated diagrammatically and is again forced through the perforated bottom13, all of .which is more particularly described in myprior. Patent 'No. 1,701,624, issued February 12,. 1929.

From the foregoing description. the operation of my- -improved concentrator l-willbe readilyapparent. Material to .beseparated is fed: into the pan 10' through the hopperllfiunderthe baffle wall 15 and moves toward .the discharge...end of the-pan over the inclinedperforated.bo-ttom,13.

A current of air from thecblower l4.is passed upwardly through the bottom .13 while the material in the bottom of the .pan .is subjected .to high frequency vibrationsfrom the synchronously; 1.15 driven electromagnets 39 and-41. The. inclination of the springs 32 to the vertical and the action of the electromagnets in a-directioninclined to the vertical aids in urging. the material toward the-discharge end of the pan 10. 1 By the time igow the material has reached the discharge. end, it is thoroughly stratified and. the lighter. constituents of i the ma-teria1 pass out over .the. dischargegate 17'whiletheheavier constituents pass out underneath the slatengate'. 18.

"Referring now to Figs.- 4.and. 5,- of thewdraw ings', I show a modified. means for impartinghigh frequency vibrations to the concentrator. The concentrator generally is constructedin a, manner similar to that already described anda de lgo scription of such parts. ofv the construction will not be repeated. accordance with;the modified form, I 1 provide the pan with. heavyjside' frame beams --61. The sub frame for. this construction comprises parallel channel. beams. 62 vand"63 on each sideof the pan and extending longitudinally thereof and restingon. the foundation beams 34 and 36.- -Interposedbetweenthe side fram'ebeams GIL-and the sub frames'62and 63 are springs 64 of suflicient strengthtosupport the concentrator 14.9 with its loadof material; I .Extending through the springs 64-:and between thebeamSTGZ and '63 are bolts 66 secured to vthe side. frame. members; 61 by means of nuts 57. on the lower. end of the bolts '66- beneath the sub frameamembers 62 and 63 arecoil springs 68 of substantial strength for limiting the upward movement of. the pan, 10, away from-sub frame.

-In-order tollimit horizontal movement.- of the pan lowithrespect to the sub frame I, provide on the sub frame members 62 and 63 upwardly extending brackets 71 and 72 and on the side casting members 61 downwardly extending brackets 73 and 74. Between the brackets 71 and 73 I interpose a spring 76 and between the brackets 72 and 74 I interpose a spring 77. Passing through the brackets 71 and 73 is a bolt 78 provided with a thick stop washer 79 on the lower end thereof, which washer may be made of leather or material of similar qualities. Connecting the brackets 72 and 74 is a bolt 81 and on the lower end of the bolt 81 is a thick washer 82 similar to the washer 79. The bolts '78 and 81 permit a small amount of vertical motion of the pan 10 relative to the sub frame and the springs '76 and 77 permit a slight movement of the pan toward the upper end thereof which, upon return movement of the pan, is suddenly arrested by means of the washers 79 and 82 in a manner to be described later.

Instead of employing a washer such as '79 and 82 on the lower ends of the bolts 78 and 81, I may connect the brackets between the pan and sub frames such as '71 and 73 with a longer bolt 78, as shown in Fig. 6, and employ a spring above the bracket 73 and a. spring 85 below the bracket 73. The springs 80 and 85 may be of differing resiliency characteristics in order that the table may have a greater acceleration backward than forward and thereby accelerate the movement of the material forwardly.

Secured to the underside of the side frame members 61 are bearings 83 and 34 in which is mounted a shaft 86 carrying unbalanced weights 8'7 and 88. The shaft 86 is driven by means of a pulley 89 from any suitable source of power not shown.

When the shaft 86 is rotated, which is preferably done at a relatively high velocity, the unbalanced weights 87 and 88 bring about vertical vibrations of the concentrator with respect to the sub frame which vibrations are limited by the strength of the springs 64 and by the adjustment of the bolts 66.

It will be noted that with this form of vibratory means, as the weights 87 and 88 revolve there is also a tendency to impart horizontal vibrations to the pan 10 which tendency, toward the upper end of the pan, is resisted by the springs 76 and 77. As the weights move round in a direction to tend to move the pan toward the lower end, the pans movement in that direction is accelerated by the springs 76 and 77 and is brought to a sudden stop by brackets 73 and 74 engaging the washers 79 and 82. This slight motion and abrupt stop accelerates the movement of the material being concentrated toward the discharge end of the apparatus. Otherwise the operation of the apparatus is the same as that already described in connection with Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have devised an improved concentrator which is extremely sturdy of design, reliable in operation, and one which affords, in apparatus employing air as the flotation medium, all of the advantages attainable by apparatus employing water.

While I have shown my invention in but two forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible to various other changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire therefore that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art, or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is':

1. In a separator, a separating pan having a perforated bottom, a frame for the pan extending parallel to the bottom, a sub frame extending parallel to the pan frame, supporting springs between the two frames, springs adapted to yieldably resist upward movement of the pan, bolts joining the frames to adjust the compression of all of said springs, springs adapted to yieldably resist horizontal movement of the pan frame towards both ends of the sub frame, and an unbalanced actuating pulley mounted on the pan to impart a gyratory motion thereto in a vertical plane.

2. In a separator, a separating pan having an inclined perforated bottom, a frame for the pan extending parallel to the bottom, a sub frame extending parallel to the pan frame, supporting springs between the two frames, springs adapted to limit the upward movement of the pan, bolts joining the frames to adjust the compression of all of said springs, springs adapted to resist horizontal movement of the pan towards the upper end of the sub frame, and rigid means adapted to stop horizontal movement of the pan towards the lower end of the sub frame.

3. In an air separator, a separating pan having an intake end and an opposed discharge end, sides and ends for the pan of sufficient height to permit vertical stratification thereon, unbalanced pulleys ridably mounted with said pan, a plurality of spring means supporting and yieldably resisting up and down movement of the pan,

other spring means adapted to yieldably resistv horizontal movement of the pan towards the intake end of the separator, and bumper means adapted to oppose horizontal movement of the pan toward the discharge end of the separator.

4. A pan separator comprising a perforate bottom, vertical sides surrounding the bottom of sufficient height to permit vertical stratification of the material in the pan, air ducts flexibly connected to the top and the bottom of the pan, means for imparting vertical vibrations to the pan, bumper means effecting horizontal movement of the material in the pan toward the discharge end thereof, means for introducing unstratified material at one end of the pan, weir means for removing the lighter stratified material from the upper level of the pan opposite to the intake end, and adjustable gate means for removing the stratified heavier material from the bottom of the pan and disposed under the weir means.

5. A pan separator comprising a perforate bottom, vertical sides surrounding the bottom of sufficient height to permit vertical stratification of the material in the pan, air ducts flexibly connected to the top and the bottom of the pan, means for imparting vertical vibrations to the pan, bumper means effecting horizontal movement of the material in the pan toward the discharge end thereof, means for introducing unstratified material at one end of the pan, weir means for removing the lighter stratified material from the upper level of the pan opposite to the intake end, adjustable gate means for removing the stratified heavier material from the bottom of the pan and disposed under the weir means, conveyer means for removing the stratified materials, and flexible connections between the pan and the conveyer means.

MARTIN LIDE. 

